The present invention relates to a vehicle fuel level sensor. In particular, the present invention relates to a sensor of the type comprising a hollow body, the bottom wall of which presents a hole through which the fuel flows into the said hollow body and acts on a float sliding along a vertical guide. The said vertical guide conveniently consists of a pipe supporting a resistive wire subjected to the action of a slide on the said float, so as to define a resistor varying as a function of the fuel level inside the tank.
In actual use, the pipe supporting the said resistive wire acts as an intake pipe for the fuel inside the tank, for the performance of which function the bottom end of the said pipe projects from the bottom wall of the said hollow body and communicates with the inside of the tank via a flat filter, usually fitted to the said bottom wall. A major drawback of sensors of the aforementioned type is that the filter, being located close to the bottom wall of the tank, is easily clogged by particles either in the fuel or settling at the bottom of the tank. On Diesel engine vehicles, for example, the paraffin in the Diesel fuel tends to solidify at low temperature and settle at the bottom of the tank, thus clogging the filter, impairing operation of the sensor, and cutting off fuel supply even when the tank is full.